?KB. 

AFRICA 


MISSIO  NS 

IN  ’AFRICA 
( The  Congo) 


*  HISTORICAL  ♦  SERIES* 


AMERICAN  BAPTIST 
FOREIGN  MISSION  SOCIETY 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  U.  S.  A. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/missionsinafricaOOamer 


The  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Society  are 
under  obligations,  which  they  acknowledge  with 
gratitude,  to  Rev.  P.  A.  McDiarmid  of  Sona 
Bata,  Congo,  who  has  rendered  valuable  service 
in  the  revision  of  this  historical  sketch  of  our 
mission  in  Africa. 


mOlUIUV/ftb  0£/IU£iO 

CP  -  Q3 

I  MISSIONS  IN  | 

$  o^AFRICA^1  cp 

g  The  Congo  g 

CP  -  .,  Cp 


American  Baptist 
Foreign  Mission  Society 
Boston,  Massachusetts 
1915 


SOME  AFRICAN  FETISHES 

Nos.  1,  2,  4,  6,  7  are  guardians  of  their  possessors. 
Nos.  1  and  2  are  worn  over  the  shoulder  by  the  upper 
Congo  natives,  the  former  shielding  them  in  war 
and  the  latter  protecting  from  smallpox,  snake  bites 
and  arrows.  No.  3  is  from  a  secret  society  and  holds 
the  power  to  punish  any  member  betraying  the 
secrets  of  the  order.  No.  4  is  hung  up  near  sleeping 
places.  Nos.  5  and  8  have  been  used  as  destructive 
agencies  and  the  scraps  of  iron  were  driven  into  them 
by  the  owners  to  show  where  they  wished  their  ene¬ 
mies  to  be  injured.  These  fetishes  were  collected 
and  photographed  by  Rev.  Joseph  Clark  of  Ikoko. 


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Lower  Section,  showing  stations  of  the-American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


The  Congo 


THE  COUNTRY 

LMOST  in  the  center  of  the  vast, 
ancient  and  mysterious  continent  of 
Africa  is  a  fertile,  elevated  plateau, 
drained  by  the  great  Congo  river  and 
lying  directly  across  the  equator. 
This  region  is  known  as  Belgian  Congo 
and  has  an  area  of  900,000  square 
miles.  It  is  eighty  times  as  big  as  the 
little  country  that  rules  it  and  extends 
from  the  Soudan  and  the  upper  part 
of  French  Equatorial  Africa  on  the 
north  to  the  Zambesi  watershed  on  the 
south.  On  the  east  is  Lake  Tanganyika  and  on  the  west 
one  long  tongue  of  its  territory  follows  the  river  to  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  but  the  rest  is  bounded  by  the  West  African 
possessions  of  France  and  Portugal.  Most  of  the  stations 
of  the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  in  the  Congo 
are  stretched  along  the  southern  bank  of  the  river  from  the 
coast  to  Lake  Tumba,  500  miles  inland. 

The  immense  interior  of  the  state  is  often  likened  to  an 
inverted  saucer,  the  greater  portion  of  what  is  called  the 
Congo  Valley  being  an  elevated  plateau  more  than  1000  feet 
above  sea  level.  The  coast  belt  of  the  Congo  region  is 
covered  with  rank,  yellow  grass,  dotted  here  and  there  with 


5 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


palm  trees  and  stocked  with  leopards,  hyenas,  crocodiles  and 
hippopotami,  while  the  mountain  plateau  region  beyond  is 
covered  with  forest.  Our  missionaries  tell  of  encounters 
with  elephants,  rhinoceri  and  wild  buffaloes.  An  early 
worker,  Mr.  C.  E.  Ingham,  lost  his  life  from  the  attack  of  a 
wild  elephant  and  our  missionaries  were  often  asked  to 
protect  native  villages  from  man-eating  crocodiles  and  other 
dangerous  beasts 


Native  Bridge  near  Sona  Bata 


The  Great  River.  The  special  physical  feature  of  the 
Congo  country  is  its  magnificent  waterway,  the  Congo  River. 
Its  mouth  was  discovered  by  Diego  Cam,  the  Portuguese 
navigator,  in  1484-5;  but  its  extent  and  sources  always 
remained  a  mystery  until  Henry  M  Stanley  followed  it  for 
more  than  1800  miles  from  Lake  Tanganyika  to  the  ocean, 
completing  his  journey  August  q,  1877.  The  river  is  eight 
miles  wide  at  the  mouth,  discharging  a  volume  of  water  equal 
to  a  million  tons  a  second.  While  the  upper  portions  often 
broaden  into  a  stately  stream  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  wide, 


6 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


through  the  terraces  of  the  interior  plateau  it  rushes  furiously 
down  the  steep  bed,  dashing  around  or  leaping  over  massive 
projections  of  rock  and  culminating  in  a  long  series  of  mighty 
cataracts.  The  river  is  navigable  for  more  than  1400  miles, 
interrupted  by  the  cataracts,  and  has  more  than  170  tribu¬ 
taries,  mostly  in  the  upper  portion,  — in  all  about  10,000 
miles  of  navigable  waterways.  The  solving  of  the  mystery 
of  the  river  was  the  beginning  of  modern  Congo  history, 
political  and  religious.  All  our  mission  stations  have  thus 
far  been  on  or  near  the  river,  though  now  we  are  beginning 
to  peer  deeper  into  the  darkness  of  the  regions  beyond. 

Rubber  and  Ivory.  The  products  of  this  region  thus  far 
are  natural  ones,  as  palm-oil,  gum  copal  and  different  kinds 
of  wood,  with  scarcely  a  beginning  of  manufactures;  but  the 
only  products  that  attract  the  attention  of  the  world  are 
rubber  and  ivory.  Great  heaps  of  elephant  tusks  and  tons 
and  tons  of  crude  rubber  were  brought  by  the  natives  in  the 
time  of  Leopold’s  misrule  until  their  toil  and  sufferings  were 
worse  than  those  of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt. 

The  Congo  Independent  State.  When  Stanley  told  his 
new,  strange  story,  although  Europe  distrusted  him,  he  won 
the  confidence  of  the  king  of  Belgium,  Leopold  II,  under 
whose  patronage  he  returned  to  the  Congo  in  1870  for  more 
complete  exploration.  Treaties  were  made  with  the  chiefs 
of  the  principal  tribes  of  the  Congo  Valley.  The  territory 
was  explored  and  trading  posts  were  established.  In  Sep¬ 
tember,  1884,  a  conference  called  by  Leopold,  and  repre¬ 
senting  fourteen  European  nations,  assembled  at  Berlin  to 
consider  the  Congo  situation.  King  Leopold  II  presented 
to  this  conference  the  treaties  of  450  Congo  chiefs,  the  terri¬ 
tory  was  named  the  Congo  Independent  State  and  Leopold 
was  recognized  by  the  nations  as  its  sovereign.  The  early 
explorations  in  the  Congo  and  the  opening  up  of  its  territory 
were  undertaken  at  the  king’s  private  expense,  so  it  was  only 
fair  that  he  be  given  special  privileges,  but  it  was  understood 
by  all  that  the  rights  of  the  natives  were  to  be  safeguarded. 
Soon  after  the  founding  of  the  Congo  Independent  State, 
however,  under  the  absolute  but  professedly  philanthropic 
rule  of  Leopold,  it  was  discovered  that  this  region  possessed 


7 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


great  natural  wealth  in  rubber.  By  a  remarkable  assump¬ 
tion  of  sovereignty  the  king  claimed  personal  ownership  of 
all  lands  not  actually  occupied  by  native  villages  with  their 
huts  and  gardens,  and  made  the  gathering  of  products  of  the 
soil,  except  by  special  authorization,  a  criminal  offence. 
State  posts  were  established,  ostensibly  for  administration, 
but  really  for  the  collection  of  rubber.  Large  sections  of 

country  were  granted 
to  concessionary  com¬ 
panies.  The  cam¬ 
paign  for  rubber  was 
conducted  with  vigor 
and  thoroughness. 
Under  a  pretext  of 
taxation  the  natives 
were  compelled  to 
bring  in  at  regular  in¬ 
tervals  a  fixed  quan¬ 
tity  of  rubber,  for 
which  they  received 
little  or  no  compensa¬ 
tion.  Resistance  to 
these  impositions  was 
effectually  repressed 
by  the  state  soldiery 
and  the  concessionary 
police.  These  black 
soldiers,  levied  by 
force  from  cannibal 
tribes  in  distant  parts 
Boys  Maimed  by  Congo  Soldiers  of  the  State,  were  al¬ 

lowed  bv  their  white 
officers  freely  to  indulge  their  savage  instincts  upon  the  help¬ 
less  people.  Villages  failing  to  furnish  the  amount  of  rub¬ 
ber  demanded  were  attacked  by  bands  of  soldiers  who  ruth¬ 
lessly  killed  men,  women  and  children,  often  feasting  upon 
the  bodies  of  the  victims  whose  severed  hands  they  carried 
to  their  white  commander  as  evidence  that  their  ammunition 
had  not  been  wasted  in  hunting  game.  Richly  productive 


8 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


territories  were  thus  denuded  and  rendered  barren ;  thickly 
settled  districts  were  depopulated  and  large  towns  wholly 
disappeared.  Imprisonment,  abuse,  torture,  mutilation  and 
death  were  the  portion  of  a  defenseless  people. 

Among  those  in  America  who  lifted  up  their  voices  against 
the  misrule  in  the  Congo  under  King  Leopold  no  one  deserves 
more  credit  than  the  late  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Barbour,  D  D. 
Although  overburdened  with  the  many  duties  devolving  upon 
him  as  Foreign  Secretary  of  our  Society,  he  nevertheless 
found  opportunities  on  the  platform  and  through  the  press 
to  call  the  attention  of  Christian  people  all  over  the  country 
to  the  horrible  abuses  carried  on  in  the  name  of  civilization. 

The  ever  increasing  volume  of  evidence  to  the  existence  of 
these  terrible  conditions  coming  from  missionaries,  travelers 
and  officials,  and  verified  by  the  report  of  the  Royal  Com¬ 
mission  of  Inquiry  appointed  by  King  Leopold  himself,  at 
length  became  so  overwhelming  that  the  Belgian  Parliament 
began  to  seriously  consider  the  taking  over  of  the  Congo  as 
a  Belgian  colony. 

On  November  14,  1908,  the  Congo  Independent  State 
ceased  to  exist  and  in  its  place  stood  the  Congo  Beige. 

BELGIAN  CONGO 

The  administration  of  the  Belgian  Congo  is  largely  con¬ 
ducted  by  the  Colonial  Minister  in  Brussels,  the  Governor 
General  in  Boma,  and  the  Commissaires  of  the  Districts  into 
which  the  Congo  has  been  divided. 

Under  King  Albert  and  the  Belgian  Parliament  a  new  era 
opened  for  the  Congo,  —  the  atrocities  and  abuses  of  former 
days  ceased  and  a  beginning  has  been  made  toward  a  true 
development  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country,  and 
this  with  humane  treatment  of  its  peoples. 

THE  CONGO  PEOPLE 

A  People  Without  a  History.  There  are  records,  in  stone, 
of  the  earliest  ages  of  Egypt,  and  pictures  even  of  some  of 
the  Pharaohs;  but  in  the  Congo  forests  kings  have  reigned 


9 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


and  passed,  countless  millions  of  people  have  lived  and  died, 
age  after  age,  and  no  more  is  known  of  their  history  than  of 
that  of  the  water  of  the  Congo  when  Joseph  was  in  Egypt. 
Tf  they  are  ever  to  have  a  history,  the  gospel  of  Christ  must 
create  it. 

Many  Tribes.  In  Uganda  Stanley  found  M’tesa,  a  king 
who  could  put  into  the  field  an  army  of  more  than  100,000 
men,  and  an  extensive  state  that  had  the  rudiments  of  govern¬ 
ment  and  where  something  was  known  of  the  industrial  arts. 
In  the  Congo  he  found  rude  and  naked  savages,  broken  up 
into  little  tribes  and  clans.  These  tribes  are  branches  of  the 
great  Bantu  race,  speaking  more  than  160  dialects  that  are 
evidently  of  common  origin.  This  was  proved  by  Dr. 
Leslie  who  made  a  long  journey  into  the  interior  in  search 
of  a  new  site  for  a  mission  station.  He  says: 

The  name  of  the  Bayaka  was  spoken  with  fear  and  awe.  Nothing 
seemed  to  be  known  of  their  language  or  their  customs.  When 
we  reached  their  country  we  were  received  with  many  savage 
demonstrations,  but  to  our  great  delight  these  people  spoke  a 
dialect  similar  to  our  own  (at  Banza  Manteke),  and  we  found  no 
difficulty  in  communicating  one  with  another. 

How  They  Look,  There  is  much  more  to  be  said  about 
the  natives  in  their  primitive  state  than  that  they  are  dirty, 
naked  savages.  Some  of  the  photographs  of  men  and  women 
who  come  to  the  mission  station  from  villages  where  heathen¬ 
ism  is  still  untouched,  show  specimens  of  magnificent  physical 
development.  “Both  physically  and  mentally,”  says  W.  D. 
Armstrong,  “the  Congo  native  is  an  interesting  type  of 
savage,  well  worth  consideration.”  “One  of  the  finest 
tribes  on  the  Congo,”  says  another,  “is  the  Balolos.  Physi¬ 
cally,  they  are  powerfully  and  finely  developed.”  The 
skulls  of  the  Congo  people  are  very  thick;  the  hair,  which  is 
crisp  and  curly,  is  dressed  in  many  fashionable  ways;  the 
chin  does  not  set  as  far  forward  as  in  the  true  Negro  race; 
but  the  mouth  is  large  and  thick,  and  full  of  excellent  teeth, 
though  the  natives  have  a  fashion  of  filing  them  away. 
The  women  wear  brass  collars  weighing  from  ten  to  twenty 
pounds,  which  have  to  be  put  on  and  taken  off  by  the  black¬ 
smith.  Tattooing  is  practised  by  making  gashes  in  various 
parts  of  the  body,  and  preventing  them  from  healing  quickly. 


10 


Tattooing  on  the  Upper  Congo 


How  They  Talk.  Our  missionary,  Rev.  Joseph  Clark, 
says  that  the  many  languages  came  from  a  common  source, 
but  they  differ  very  much  both  in  vocabulary  and  grammar. 
As  there  was  no  written  language,  the  first  missionaries  had 
to  master  the  uncouth  oral  dialects,  reduce  them  to  writing, 
and  translate  hymns,  gospels  and  other  books  into  words 
understood  by  these  illiterate  peoples.  Rev.  Henry  Richards 
tells  of  his  experience: 

The  greatest  difficulty  was  the  language.  No  white  man  had  ever 
mastered  it.  I  got  a  note  book  and  wrote  down  everything  I  could 
hear,  phonetically.  Then  I  began  to  use  the  words.  The  people 
laughed  but  I  did  not  mind  that.  I  got  hold  of  a  word  that  I 
thought  meant  “mother.”  Afterwards  I  found  it  meant  “full 
grown  man.”  Nevertheless,  the  language  is  not,  as  some  suppose, 
a  mere  jargon,  but  is  beautiful,  euphonious  and  flowing. 

How  They  Live.  The  people  eat  almost  anything.  Many 
kinds  of  fruit  abound,  but  the  favorite  food,  though  difficult 
to  obtain,  is  meat.  This  explains  some  of  the  references  in 
letters  from  our  missionaries  who  say,  when  they  shoot  an 
elephant,  a  hippopotamus  or  a  rhinoceros:  “This  made  a 
fine  feast  for  the  boys.”  In  social  life  they  were,  and  for 
the  most  part  still  are,  communistic;  and  several  mission¬ 
aries  have  written  with  regret  of  the  change  toward  individ¬ 
ualism  which  the  introduction  of  European  ideas  is  inevit¬ 
ably  bringing  about: 

In  regard  to  their  land  laws,  the  soil  belongs  to  the  community, 
and  the  portion  which  each  holds  is  his  by  virtue  of  his  belonging 
to  the  town.  He  may  not  part  with  it  to  a  stranger.  The  social 
unit  is  the  family.  The  chief  is  the  father,  the  villagers  are  his 


11 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


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AFRICA 


children. — -  Rev.  C.  H.  Harvey.  The  people  are  still  Africans, 
and  I  wish  them  to  remain  so.  Their  mode  of  living  and  dressing 
is  far  more  suitable  than  our  European  way.  A  man  with  a  cloth 
around  his  waist,  another  over  his  shoulder,  and  one  arm  bare, 
looks  a  pe  feet  gentleman.  This  is  much  more  graceful  than  the 
white  man’s  dress,  which  is  very  ugly.  —  Rev.  Henry  Richards. 

Of  the  Congo  temperament,  Mr.  W.  D.  Armstrong  says, 
“He  is  a  light-hearted  and  merry  fellow,  taking  a  keen 
interest  in  life.” 


FETISHISM 

A  Ghostly  Web  of  Bondage.  Fetishism  grasps  the  Congo 
native  at  his  birth;  it  masters  his  life;  it  follows  him  into 
the  grave.  Fetishism  is  not  a  system  of  idolatry,  likje 
Hinduism,  nor  is  it  like  the  spirit  worship  of  the  Karens; 
it  is  far  more  complex  and  complete  than  either,  and  there 
is  in  it  very  little  of  the  idea  of  worship.  It  fills  the  universe 
and  all  material  objects  with  spirits,  - —  usually  evil.  Of  one 
of  its  fundamental  doctrines,  Mary  H.  Kingsley,  says: 

It  connects  a  certain  spirit  with  a  certain  mass  of  matter.  When 
lightning  strikes  and  sunders  a  tree,  its  spirit  is  killed,  when  a 
cooking-pot  goes  to  pieces,  its  spirit  has  died,  when  a  weapon  fails, 
its  spirit  is  stolen  or  sick.  In  every  action  of  his  daily  life  the 
native  will  show  you  that  he  lives  with  a  great,  powerful  spirit 
world  around  him.  Before  he  goes  to  the  hunt  or  to  war  he  rubs 
medicine  into  his  weapons  to  strengthen  the  spirits  within  them, 
talking  to  them  the  while,  and  begging  them  in  the  hour  of  nec¬ 
essity  not  to  desert  him.  You  will  see  him  bending  over  the  face 
of  the  river,  talking  to  its  spirit  with  proper  incantations,  asking 
it  when  it  meets  a  man  who  is  his  enemy  to  upset  his  canoe  and 
drown  him.  The  native  thinks  of  himself  as  beset  on  every  side 
by  innumerable  ill-tempered  spirits,  all,  with  one  accord,  consciously 
and  constantly  attempting  to  thwart  his  endeavors,  and  all  seeking 
his  injury  and  death. 

The  Forms  of  Fetishes.  “A  fetish,”  says  Rev.  Joseph 
Clark,  “is  not  an  idol,  nor  is  it  the  likeness  or  symbol  of  a 
god.  It  is  supposed  to  be  the  abode  of  an  impersonal  power 
which  we  would  classify  as  a  spirit.  It  may  be  some  natural 
object,  as  an  insect,  reptile  or  other  creature.  Crocodiles 
distinguished  by  their  success  as  man-hunters  are  frequently 
said  to  be  fetishes.  On  the  lower  Congo  a  large  rock  is 
known  as  ‘Fetish  Rock.’  An  immense  number  of  things 


12 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


are  used  —  a  stone,  a  chip,  a  piece  of  rag  —  anything. 
Very  common  forms  are  small  shells,  small  horns  of  gazelles 
and  kids,  and  grotesque  images  of  the  human  figure.  When 
it  is  desired  to  obtain  power  over  some  one  else,  crumbs  of 
the  victim’s  food,  or  clippings  of  his  finger  nails  or  hair, 
or  even  a  drop  of  his  blood  are  obtained. 

So  fearful  are  natives  of  such  power  that 
they  have  their  hair  cut  only  by  a  friend, 
and  even  then  they  carefully  burn  it  or 
cast  it  into  a  river.  If  one  accidentally 
cuts  himself,  he  stamps  out  what  blood  has 
dropped  upon  the  ground.” 

The  Use  of  Fetishes.  The  use  of  fet¬ 
ishes  is  as  varied  as  their  forms.  Paul 
du  Chaillu  describes  a  stockaded  village 
which  he  approached,  where  the  entrance 
was  protected  by  two  hideous  fetishes  in 
the  form  of  women.  Fetishes  are  worn 
on  the  person;  on  the  arm  in  hunting,  to 
assure  accurate  aim;  on  bracelet  or  neck¬ 
lace,  to  ward  off  sickness:  on  various  parts 
of  the  body,  to  insure  success  in  loving, 
hating,  planting,  buying  and  all  sorts  of 
enterprises.  Those  on  the  fence  or 
branches  of  trees  are  to  keep  away 
thieves;  on  the  bow  of  the  canoe,  to  in¬ 
sure  a  successful  journey.  Those  made  in 
human  form  often  have  nails  driven  into  them  in  the  spot 
where  it  is  desired  to  injure  an  enemy.  Thus  the  system 
of  fetishism  accounts  for  everything,  even  the  failure  of 
fetishes.  If  the  hunter  wearing  fetishes  comes  back  empty- 
handed  or  the  warrior  is  wounded  in  spite  of  having  paid 
the  witch  doctor  for  protection,  the  charm  maker  declares: 
“Yes,  I  know  you  have  an  enemy  who  possesses  a  fetish 
more  powerful  than  yours.  Yours  is  dead,  but  if  you  will 
pay  me,  I  will  make  you  one  that  is  still  more  powerful.” 

The  Brutality  of  Fetishism,  Many  of  the  horrible 
practises  of  the  natives  are  due  to  fetishism.  A  man  while 
hunting  was  charged  by  an  elephant  and  pierced  by  its 


An  African 
Fetish 

The  original  is  an  imagt 
of  wood  about  ten. 
inches  high 


13 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


tusks.  Fearfully  lacerated,  he  lived  long  enough  to  accuse 
twelve  of  his  women  and  other  slaves  of  having  bewitched 
his  gun,  so  that  he  only  wounded  instead  of  killing  the 
elephant.  On  that  charge  four  of  the  accused  were  put  to 
death.  Another  man  is  accused  of  theft,  and  there  is  only 
one  way  of  trial;  he  must  drink  the  cup  of  poison.  If  he 
lives,  he  is  innocent;  if  he  dies,  he  is  guilty.  Sometimes  a 
whole  village  is  accused  of  some  crime,  and  all  must  drink 
the  poison.  In  this  way  whole  sections  of  the  country  have 
been  depopulated.  Fetishism  is  also  accountable  for  the 
many  wives  and  slaves  killed  to  accompany  the  spirit  of  a 
dead  chief,  and  even  for  some  of  the  cannibalism  practised 
by  a  few  of  the  tribes. 

The  Witch  Doctor.  The  priest  of  fetishism,  if  such 

he  may  be  called,  is 
the  witch  doctor. 
He  is  sought  by  all 
classes;  he  makes  and 
sells  charms;  he  gives 
the  most  repulsive 
and  cruel  treatment 
to  the  sick;  he  “smells 
out”  criminals;  he  or¬ 
ganizes  the  trial  by 
poison;  he  directs  the 
insane  dances ;  he 
conducts  the  horrid 
funeral  orgies  for  the 
dead  chiefs.  Because 
his  victims  believe  in 
his  power,  they  nec¬ 
essarily  suffer  great 
agonies  of  mind  as  well 
as  body. 

Fetish  Secret  Societies.  The  training  school  of  fetish¬ 
ism,  which  insures  its  teaching  and  continuance,  is  the 
Nkimba  secret  society,  an  account  of  which  is  gathered 
from  descriptions  by  Mary  H.  Kingsley  and  Henry  Richards. 
All  males  continue  in  the  Nkimba  society  from  the  age  of 


A  Witch  Doctor  and  his  Fetishes 


14 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


twelve  to  sixteen.  In  or  near  the  village  there  is  a  stockaded 
tract,  hidden  in  a  thick  grove.  A  boy  who  has  arrived  at 
the  right  age  to  enter  the  Nkimba  suddenly  falls  down  in 
the  market  place.  The  witch  doctor  declares  that 
the  boy  is  dead,  and  carries  him  off  to  the 
Nkimba  stockade,  where  he  comes  to  life  as  a 
Nkimba.  His  body  is  covered  with  white  chalk. 

He  receives  a  new  name,  has  to  learn  a  new 
language,  called  the  Nkimba,  and  is  initiated 
into  all  the  superstitious  rites.  The  mem¬ 
bers  eat  a  piece  of  chalk  that  is  said  to  be 
a  pig,  and  are  told  that  if  they  ever  say 
that  it  is  not  a  pig,  or  confess  that  they 
did  not  die  and  rise  again,  they  will  die 
suddenly.  They  remain  in  the  society 
for  two  or  three  years,  and  then,  satur¬ 
ated  with  fetishism,  return  to  their 
friends.  These  are  the  men  whom 
our  missionaries  are  trying  to 
reach  with  the  gospel,  and  whom 
the  gospel  has  demonstrated  its 
power  to  transform  into  true  Chris¬ 
tian  men.  Mr.  Richards  tells 
us  some  of  the  questions  asked 
when  a  native  professes  to  be 
a  Christian:  “Did  you  die  and 
rise  again  in  Nkimba?”  “Did 
you  eat  pig,  or  a  piece  of 
chalk?”  Can  any  of  us  im¬ 
agine  the  mental  struggle  it 
costs  a  man  trained  in  the 
dreadful  rites  of  Nkimba  to  declare  clearly:  “I  ate  a  piece 
of  chalk;  I  did  not  die  and  rise  again.”  Thousands  have 
done  this,  though  often  with  fear  and  trembling.  Just  here 
it  is  worth  while  to  suggest  the  value  of  medical  missions 
and  of  mission  schools  to  receive  the  boys  before  they  are 
haled  away  to  the  Nkimba  stockade. 

EXPLORATION  AND  MISSION  BEGINNINGS 

Livingstone  and  the  Congo.  One  of  the  most  remark- 

15 


A  Cannibal  Chief,  Ikokp 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


able  facts  about  the  opening  of  the  Congo  country  is  the 
way  that  the  idea  of  Christian  missions  was  interwoven 
with  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  river  and  the  dis¬ 
covery  that  the  valley  was  fruitful  and  prosperous.  David 
Livingstone  is  honored  as  an  explorer  and  discoverer,  but 
first  of  all  he  was  a  missionary;  for  what  first  induced  him 
to  travel  to  the  north,  says  Henry  M.  Stanley,  “was  his 
hope  of  finding  a  land  where  he  could  follow  in  peace  his 
vocation  as  a  missionary.”  Livingstone  traced  the  upper 
streams  of  the  Congo  for  years,  thinking  it  was  the  Nile. 
Yet  a  misgiving  would  now  and  then  enter  his  mind  that 
it  must  be  the  Congo;  and  one  of  the  impressive  incidents 
of  his  life  was  the  scene  when  he  stood  alone  in  the  depths 
of  the  forest;  and  as  the  sense  of  the  land  and  peoples  yet 
to  be  discovered  came  over  him,  he  silently  consecrated 
the  unknown  country  to  God. 

Livingstone  and  Stanley.  Still  more  important  in  its 
results  was  the  influence  which  Livingstone  had  upon 
Stanely.  When  Stanley  set  out  for  Africa  under  the  impulse 
of  Bennett’s  terse  telegram,  “Find  Livingstone,”  the  famous 
war  correspondent  thought  little  of  anything  beyond  his 
great  journalistic  enterprise.  From  the  moment  of  meeting 
the  missionary,  however,  a  new  element  became  dominant 
in  the  traveler  and  reporter.  He  says,  “Early  in  November, 
1871,  after  a  march  of  nearly  1000  miles,  we  saw  the  waters 
of  Lake  Tanganyika.  A  few  minutes  later  we  entered 
the  town  of  Ujiji,  and  there  we  came,  most  miraculously, 
as  I  thought  at  the  time,  face  to  face  with  Livingstone.” 
From  the  time  of  their  meeting  at  Ujiji  they  lived  together 
for  four  months,  sharing  the  same  tent.  “The  longer  I 
lived  with  him,”  says  Stanley,  “the  more  did  my  reverence 
and  admiration  for  him  increase.”  The  gentleness,  the 
faith,  the  courage  of  the  missionary,  his  genuine  manhood, 
so  impressed  the  young  journalist  that  he  began  to  look 
upon  the  evangelization  of  Africa  with  feelings  similar  to 
those  which  moved  the  heart  of  Livingstone  himself. 

Stanley  and  the  Congo.  The  opening  paragraphs  of 
Stanley’s  “Through  the  Dark  Continent”  show  how  deeply 
he  felt  the  personal  influence  of  Livingstone’s  character: 


16 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


While  returning  to  England,  in  April,  1874,  from  the  Ashante  War, 
the  news  reached  me  that  Livingstone  w.is  dead,  that  his  body 
was  on  its  way  to  England !  The  effect  that  this  news  had  upon 
me,  after  the  first  shock  had  passed  away,  was  to  fire  me  with  the 
resolution  to  complete  his  work,  to  be,  if  God  willed  it,  the  next 
martyr  to  geographical  science:  or,  if  my  life  was  to  be  spared, 
to  clear  up  not  only  the  secrets  of  the  great  river,  but  also  all  that 
remained  still  problematic  and  incomplete  of  the  discoveries  of 
former  explorers. 

In  the  course  of  this  journey  he  came  to  the  kingdom 
of  Uganda,  governed  by  the  strong  and  energetic  chief 
M’tesa.  Here  he  began  to  put  into  practise  the  missionary 
principles  of  Living¬ 
stone  and  became  earn  - 
est  for  M’tesa’s  con¬ 
version,  turning  every¬ 
thing  towards  effecting 
this  object.  The  same 
influence  followed  him 
when  at  last  he  know 
that  it  was  the  mighty 
Congo  bearing  him  on¬ 
ward  toward  the  west¬ 
ern  ocean.  Very  sig¬ 
nificant,  too,  was  the 
address  presented  to 
the  explorer  by  the 
English  Baptist  Mis¬ 
sionary  Society  in  1885, 
in  which  they  grate¬ 
fully  recognized  that  the  comparatively  recent  impetus 
given  to  missionary  work  in  Central  Africa  owed  its  origin 
in  a  great  measure  to  Henry  M.  Stanley. 

Missions  Ready  for  the  Congo.  Thus,  in  a  way  we 
have  been  too  careless  in  recognizing,  the  Christian  world 
was  prepared  to  send  the  gospel  to  the  Congo  peoples. 
The  story  of  Uganda  was  known;  God’s  people  were  praying 
and  planning,  and  almost  as  soon  as  Stanley  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Congo  several  societies  were  prepared  to  send 
missionaries  at  once. 


Raw  Material,  Ikoko 


17 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


THE  LIVINGSTONE  INLAND  MISSION 

Beginnings .  The  first  of  these  societies  was  the  Living¬ 
stone  Inland  Mission,  of  England.  Rev.  A.  Tilly  of  Cardiff 
was  its  first  secretary,  but  in  the  fall  of  1880  the  responsible 
management  came  into  the  hands  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  H. 
Grattan  Guinness  of  London.  In  January,  1878,  two 
missionaries  sailed  for  the  Congo  and  two  more  followed 
in  June.  Cardiff  Station  was  established  near  the  cataract 
region,  and  Palabala,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  was 
selected  as  the  site  for  the  second  station.  Here  Mr.  James 
Telford  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  first  Christian  grave 
on  the  Congo.  Other  missionaries  were  sent  out  in  1879, 
among  whom  was  Rev.  Henry  Richards,  who  established 
a  station  at  Banza  Manteke. 


Matadi,  Looking  down  the  Congo 


Henry  Richards  and  the  Donkeys.  Mr.  Richards  vividly 
describes  the  difficulties  of  those  early  days: 

I  was  sent  out  with  others  to  try  to  get  to  Stanley  Pool.  The  idea 
was  to  establish  a  chain  of  stations,  and  thus  reach  the  multitudes 
of  people.  The  difficulties  of  transport  were  enormous.  Our 
society  said,  “Why  not  try  donkeys?  They  are  very  hardy  animals.” 
So  we  got  five  or  six  from  the  Island  of  Teneriffe.  We  loaded  up 
the  donkeys  and  started.  We  soon  came  to  a  stream  of  water, 
full  of  rocks  and  difficult  to  ford.  My  donkey  refused  to  cross, 
but  when  I  encouraged  him  with  a  itrap,  he  leaped  into  the  middle 


18 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


of  the  stream  and  quietly  sat  down,  bales  and  all.  Going  down 
hills,  the  bales  would  slip  forward,  the  donkey  would  hold  down 
his  head,  and  off  would  go  the  bales.  The  second  day  our  path 
led  along  the  side  of  a  steep  hill  and  I  trembled  for  the  safety  of  the 
donkeys.  Presently  my  donkey  lost  its  footing  and  began  to  roll 
down  the  hill.  All  I  could  see  was  hoofs  and  bales  flying  through 
the  air,  till  the  donkey  was  suddenly  stopped  by  a  tree.  We  got 
on  in  this  way  till  we  reached  Palabala,  fifteen  miles,  in  five  days. 

Alone  at  Banza  Manteke.  After  further  preparations 
they  started  for  Stanley  Pool,  and  fifty  or  sixty  miles  beyond 
Palabala  seemed  to  come  to  the  end  of  the  path.  Mr. 
Richards  continues: 

Our  supplies  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  the  other  two  missionaries 
thought  we  had  better  return.  We  went  back  about  ten  miles 
from  the  river  to  a  place  called  Banza  Manteke,  and  as  there  were 
a  number  of  villages  about  and  the  people  looked  rather  friendly, 
I  thought  it  a  good  place  to  establish  a  station,  and  I  could  not 
see  the  use  of  returning  to  Palabala,  as  I  had  agreed  to  establish 
a  station  beyond,  if  possible.  As  we  only  had  one  tent  we  built 
a  hut  out  of  the  long  grass  growing  there,  and  in  September,  1879, 
I  found  myself  alone  among  a  people  entirely  unknown  to  me, 
with  no  knowledge  of  their  customs  or  their  language. 

Mr.  Richards  was  joined  by  his  wife  the  following  year, 
but  she  died  in  November,  1881,  leaving  him  once  more 
alone.  In  the  meantime  five  additional  missionaries  had 
been  sent  out,  and  the  fourth  and  fifth  stations  were  founded 
at  Matadi  and  Bemba,  the  latter  some  fifty  miles  from 
Banza  Manteke. . 

The  Chain  Completed.  In  December,  1881,  and  Janu¬ 
ary,  1882,  three  missionaries  made  a  journey  to  Stanley 
Pool  from  Bemba  station  on  the  north  of  the  river.  A 
station  was  established  in  March,  1882,  at  Mukimbungu, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  nearly  opposite  the  old  station 
at  Bemba  in  Manyanga.  The  latter  was  abandoned,  as 
it  was  decided  to  be  more  advantageous  to  establish  the 
route  from  the  coast  to  Stanley  Pool  by  the  south  side  of 
the  river.  In  August  another  station  was  planted  at  Luk- 
unga;  and  July  31,  the  first  two  converts  of  the  mission 
were  baptized  by  Mr.  Guinness  in  London,  where  the  young 
men  had  been  taken  to  assist  in  reducing  the  language  to 
a  written  form.  The  third  station  founded  in  this  busy 


19 


MISSIONS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


year  was  at  Mukimvika,  on  the  south  side  of  the  mouth  of 


the  Con¬ 
go,  the 
purpose  of 
which  was 
to  reach 
the  coast 
tribes  of 
that  re¬ 
gion.  In 
February , 
i883,asite 
for  a  sta¬ 
tion  was 
secured  at 
Leopold¬ 
ville,  Stan¬ 
ley  Pool; 
and  thus 


The  “Henry  Reed 


the  chain  of  stations,  seven  in  number,  was  completed  from 
the  coast  to  the  head  of  Livingstone  Falls.  The  stern- 
paddle-wheel  steamer  “Henry  Reed,”  intended  for  the 
navigation  of  the  upper  Congo,  was  launched  in  London, 
May  29,  1883,  ancl  November  it  was  shipped  via  Rotterdam. 
Just  a  year  later  it  was  launched  at  Stanley  Pool.  The 
vessel  was  constructed  so  as  to  be  taken  in  pieces  and  packed 
in  500  small  man-loads  for  transportation  from  the  coast 
to  the  pool.  She  was  seventy-one  feet  long,  ten  feet  beam, 
and  three  feet  deep,  with  light  draught.  For  over  twenty- 
five  years  she  was  a  messenger  of  light  to  the  people  of  the 
upper  Congo. 

Up  to  the  time  when  the  mission  was  transferred  to  the 
American  Baptists,  fifty  agents,  both  men  and  women,  had 
been  sent  to  the  Congo,  of  whom  ten  had  died,  and  others 
had  left  the  service.  The  staff  then  consisted  of  twenty- 
six  missionaries,  three  of  whom  were  in  England.  The 
Congo  language  had  been  reduced  to  writing,  a  grammar 
and  dictionary  published,  several  hopeful  converts  gained, 
and  seven  stations  established,  extending  more  than  500 


20 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


miles  into  the  interior.  The  entire  expense  of  the  mission 
up  to  that  time  had  been  about  $150,000. 

Another  Chain.  We  must  go  back  for  twenty  years 
in  order  to  follow  the  chain  of  providential  circumstances 
which  placed  the  Congo  Mission  in  the  hands  of  American 
Baptists.  In  i860  Dr.  Kirk  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  Congre¬ 
gational  Church,  Boston,  asked  Mr.  H.  G.  Guinness,  a  rising 
young  English  evangelist,  to  hold  revival  services  in  the  Mt. 
Vernon  Church.  Just  before  leaving  for  America  Mr. 
Guinness  was  immersed,  and  on  that  account  he  was  denied 
the  use  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  Church.  At  this  time  Dr.  J.  N. 
Murdock  was  pastor  of  the  Bowdoin  Square  Baptist  Church, 
Boston,  and  he  was  asked  by  Dr.  Kirk  to  admit  the  English 
evangelist  to  his  church.  Consent  was  cordially  given, 
and  so  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guinness  began  their  work  in  America 
in  the  Bowdoin  Square  Church,  under  the  auspices  of  Dr. 
Murdock,  who  afterward  became  the  Secretary  of  the 
American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society.  Previous  to 
1884  yearly  resolutions  were  passed  by  the  Society  to  the 
effect  that  we  should  reopen  work  in  Africa  to  take  the 
place  of  the  abandoned  Liberia  mission.  It  became  known 
also  that  Rev.  George  Pearse,  who  had  opened  a  mission 
among  the  Kabyles  of  Algeria,  had  expressed  his  inten¬ 
tion  of  offering  his  mission  to  the  American  Baptists. 
A  letter  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Pearse  concerning  his  inten¬ 
tions,  which  was.  forwarded  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guinness  as 
Mr.  Pearse’s  agents.  When  the  letter  was  placed  in  their 
hands,  they  saw  on  the  printed  heading  the  name  of  Dr. 
Murdock,  whose  kindness  they  had  always  remembered. 
By  this  time  the  Congo  Mission  had  grown  so  large  that  it 
could  no  longer  be  conducted  as  a  personal  mission,  and 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Guinness  felt  that  its  proper  development 
demanded  its  transfer  to  the  management  of  some  large 
society.  Under  these  circumstances  their  hearts  turned 
warmly  and  cordially  towards  their  old  friend  and  the  society 
of  which  he  was  the  secretary,  and  they  wrote  at  once  to 
Dr.  Murdock,  offering  to  the  American  Baptist  Foreign 
Mission  Society  the  Livingstone  Inland  Mission  on  the 
Congo.  After  several  months  of  negotiation  and  careful 


21 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


deliberation,  involving  personal  interviews  with  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Guinness,  the  mission  was  formally  accepted  September 
9,  1884.  The  chain  of  events  by  which  the  baptism  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Guinness  and  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Murdock  were 
linked  to  the  investigation  which  brought  the  Congo  Mission 
to  the  Foreign  Mission  Society,  was  manifestly  wrought 
by  the  hand  of  God. 

A  Crisis  and  the  Transfer.  The  adoption  of  the  Congo 
Mission  by  the  American  Baptists  was  the  result  of  careful 
investigation,  and  the  action  was  taken  with  general  approval, 
but  not  without  some  misgiving  and  subsequent  opposition 
in  influential  quarters.  At  this  crisis,  Rev.  A.  Sims,  M.D., 
reached  America.  He  was  the  first  of  the  Congo  mission¬ 
aries  to  visit  the  United  States,  and  his  conferences  with 
the  Executive  Committee  cleared  away  many  of  the  diffi¬ 
culties  in  the  practical  conduct  of  the  mission.  In  company 
with  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon,  he  visited  New  York,  Philadelphia 
and  other  leading  cities,  addressing  conferences  of  influential 
Baptists.  Confidence  in  the  mission  was  fully  restored. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  same  man  who  had  been 
largely  instrumental  in  saving  the  Telugu  Mission  should 
now  speak  the  decisive  word  for  the  mission  on  the  Congo. 
In  1853,  Dr.  Edward  Bright,  Home  Secretary  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Society  refused  to  write  the  letter  giving  up  the 
Telugu  Mission,  and  it  was  he  who  coined  the  phrase,  the 
“Lone  Star,”  which  led  to  the  writing  of  Dr.  S.  F.  Smith’s 
famous  poem.  In  1886,  Dr.  Bright,  as  editor  of  The  Exam¬ 
iner wrote  a  strong  editorial  favoring  the  retention  of  the 
Congo  Mission,  clearly  setting  forth  its  advantages  and  the 
grandeur  of  its  possibilities.  Opposition  disappeared,  and 
at  the  annual  meeting  at  Asbury  Park  it  was  resolved  to 
reenforce  and  vigorously  prosecute  the  work  on  the  Congo. 

The  Mission  as  Received.  At  the  time  of  the  adoption 
of  the  Livingstone  Inland  Mission  by  the  American  Baptist 
Foreign  Mission  Society,  the  seven  stations  occupied  and 
the  staff  of  the  mission  were  as  follows: 

1  Mukimvika.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Congo  on  the  south  side, 

established  in  1882.  Rev.  C.  B.  Banks. 

2  Palabala.  One  hundred  and  twelve  miles  from  the  sea  and 


22 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


twelve  miles  south  of  the  river,  opened  in  1878.  Rev.  Joseph 
Clark  and  wife.  Miss  J.  A.  Skakle.  -*| 

3  Banza  Manteke.  Forty  miles  beyond  Palabala,  opened  in 

1879,  and  occupied  by  Rev.  Henry  Richards,  Miss  Mary  E. 
Cole  and  Miss  Emily  Harris. 

4  Mukimbungu.  Occupied  by  Rev.  Charles  H.  Harvey. 

5  Lukunga,  sixty-nine  miles  beyond  Banza  Manteke,  1882.  Rev. 

P.  Frederickson,  Mr.  N.  Westlind. 

6  Leopoldville,  at  the  head  of  Livingstone  Falls,  on  Stanely  Pool, 

opened  in  1883.  Mr.  John  McKittrick. 

7  Equator  Stations,  where  the  Congo  crosses  the  Equator,  1884. 

Mr.  K.  J.  Petterson,  Mr.  J.  B.  Eddie. 

On  the  steamer  “Henry  Reed.”  Rev.  A.  Billington,  Rev. 
C.  B.  Glenesk. 

To  open  a  station  at  Stanley  Falls.  A.  Sims,  M.D.,  and  Rev. 
Theodore  H.  Hoste. 

In  England.  Mr.  Stephen  J.  White  and  wife,  Mrs.  Henry 
Craven,  Miss  Martha  S.  Spearing. 

Five  of  the  men  who  came  over  to  the  Foreign  Mission 
Society  have  continued  their  labors  up  to  the  present  time, 
having  successfully  endured  the  severity  of  climate  and  labor 
for  over  thirty  years.  To  the  pioneers  of  the  Livingstone 
Inland  Mission  American  Baptists  owe  a  great  debt  of  grat¬ 
itude  and  appreciation.  Without  them  the  Congo  Mission 
could  not  have  been  maintained  in  efficiency;  to  them  is  due 
a  large  measure  of  the  success  which  has  been  achieved  in 
winning  the  people  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  and  it  should 
always  be  remembered  that  they  opened  up  the  pathway  to 
the  Congo  valley.  All  trade  and  travel  soon  adopted  the 
line  of  their  explorations. 


THE  MISSION  SINCE  ITS  TRANSFER 

First  Missionaries.  Mr.  Herbert  Probert  was  the  first 
missionary  from  America  sent  to  the  Congo,  and  in  1886 
and  1887  a  considerable  reenforcement  was  added  to  the 
mission,  including  Mr.  Charles  E.  Ingham,  who  first  went 
to  the  Congo  in  1881  as  a  member  of  the  Livingstone  Inland 
Mission,  but  retired  upon  its  transfer  to  the  American  society. 
In  1887  he  was  reappointed  and  for  six  years  rendered  valuable 
service,  especially  in  the  difficult  work  of  transport. 


23 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


Palabala.  Of  our  stations  in  Congo  at  present  Palabala, 
founded  in  1878,  is  the  oldest.  Many  of  the  early  mission¬ 
aries  worked  here  before  moving  on  to  open  up  new  stations. 

Rev.  C.  H.  Harvey  and  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  A.  Hall  labored 
most  faithfully  at  this  station  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
upon  the  departure  of  Mr.  Harvey  to  take  up  teaching  in 
the  Training  School  at  Banza  Manteke,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall 
continued  their  work  alone.  At  Palabala  the  missionaries 
were  confronted  by  many  problems  peculiar  to  towns  near 
the  coast,  and  connected  with  the  coming  of  the  railroad. 
Rum  was  imported  in  large  quantities,  and  its  effects  were 
most  serious,  causing  the  mission  workers  many  anxious 
hours.  But  in  spite  of  these  things,  and  frequent  changes 
in  the  mission  force,  together  with  strong  opposition  from 
the  Roman  Catholics,  the  church  at  Palabala  has  grown 
and  at  the  close  of  1914  reported  a  membership  of  879. 

A  small  boarding  school  has  been  maintained,  and  as  a 
result  of  Mrs.  Hall’s  efficient  work  with  the  girls  and  women, 
thoroughly  trained  Bible  women  have  gone  forth  to  tell  and 
live  Christ’s  message  of  love  and  service.  A  stone  dormitory 
has  recently  been  built  for  the  girls,  and  a  splendid  stone 
chapel,  toward  the  erection  of  which  whole  villages  of  men, 
women  and  children  gave  their  voluntary  labor  and  substan¬ 
tial  gifts  of  money. 

Banza  Manteke ,  For  seven  years  Rev.  Henry  Richards 
labored  at  Banza  Manteke,  but  the  impression  on  the  people 
seemed  to  be  very  small.  These  years  of  life  and  labor  were 
not  lost;  but  a  change  of  mental  and  spiritual  attitude  on 
the  part  of  Mr.  Richards,  and  the  direct,  simple  preaching 
of  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  men  awakened  the  Congo  people 
and  transformed  their  lives.  He  preached  and  lived  the 
literal  precepts  of  Jesus. 

The  Congo  Pentecost.  In  August,  1886,  began  that 
remarkable  revival  at  Banza  Manteke,  known  as  “the 
Pentecost  on  the  Congo.”  A  few  years  later  Mr.  Richards 
told  the  story  of  the  revival  in  this  country  and  his  account 
of  what  he  said  to  the  Congo  people  about  Jesus  is  a  wonder¬ 
ful  revelation  of  the  gospel  in  its  simplicity,  completeness 
and  power.  It  was  then,  as  Mr.  Richards  says,  that  “it 


24 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


seemed  as  if  the  Holy  Ghost  had  fallen  upon  the  people. 
They  began  to  look  at  each  other,  but  they  were  afraid  to 
confess.  I  saw  the  power  and  continued  preaching.” 

Converts  and  Fetishism.  The  first  conveit  at  Banza 
Manteke  was  Lutete,  the  man  who  helped  Mr.  Richards 
with  the  language.  He  immediately  began  to  preach  to 


Baptismal  Scene  at  Banza  Manteke 

the  people,  but  they  began  to  persecute  him  because  they 
believed  he  had  joined  wTith  the  white  man  to  bewitch  their 
souls.  It  required  a  tremendous  effort  to  break  away  from 
the  strong  superstitions,  but  one  by  one,  then  in  groups  and 
hundreds,  they  came,  bringing  their  fetishes,  burning  them, 
hiding  them  in  the  deep  grass,  abandoning  the  Nkimba, 
the  diabolical  dances,  the  witchcraft,  the  poison-giving. 
In  place  of  these  things  they  took  Christ  for  their  Saviour, 
exclaiming:  “I  do  believe  those  words;  I  do  believe  Jesus 
has  taken  away  my  sins;”  and  they  sang  hymns  of  joy  and 
praise.  In  a  few  weeks,  more  than  1000  people  declared 
themselves  to  be  followers  of  Jesus. 

How  the  Work  Spread.  The  readiness  of  the  converts 
to  engage  in  Christian  service  has  been  a  marked  feature 
of  the  Congo  Christians.  In  public  and  private  they  have 


25 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


talked  about  the  gospel  truth  and  endeavored  to  lead  others 
to  believe.  Up  to  this  time  the  people  had  had  no  literature 
of  any  kind,  no  grammars  nor  dictionaries,  and  they  could 
neither  read  nor  write;  but  as  soon  as  they  became  Christians 
they  were  eager  to  learn.  A  considerable  number  of  strong, 
earnest  men  were  gathered  in  school  from  year  to  year, 
where  they  were  thoroughly  instructed  in  the  fundamental 
truths  of  the  gospel  and  then  sent  out  to  the  heathen  districts 
to  preach.  The  greater  number  of  the  hundreds  of  converts 
who  have  been  won  in  connection  with  the  work  at  Banza 
Manteke  have  been  the  direct  fruit  of  the  labors  of  these 
native  evangelists.  No  more  striking  illustration  of  their 
work  is  afforded  than  in  that  of  Paul,  a  worthy  namesake 
of  the  greatest  of  missionaries,  of  whom  Dr.  Leslie  says: 

He  was  converted  about  ten  years  ago  from  bitter  opposition  to  the 
gospel  to  a  love  for  Christ  and  a  zeal  for  his  kingdom  worthy  of 
his  illustrious  namesake.  A  born  leader  of  men  and  a  gifted  speaker, 
he  soon  became  an  irresistible  power  in  his  own  distiict.  He  taught 
himself  to  read  in  three  or  four  months  and  spent  one  term  in  the 
evangelists’  training  school  at  the  station.  He  chose  for  a  location 
the  largest  town  in  the  district,  which  had  for  more  than  ten  years 
resisted  the  introduction  of  the  gospel.  Here,  exposed  to  dangers 
on  every  side,  he  labored  for  many  months,  going  about  among  the 
people,  winning  their  trust,  and.  as  he  had  opportunity,  telling  of 
a  salvation  from  sin,  and  of  eternal  life  through  the  Son  of  God. 

The  New  Chapel.  The  Church  at  Banza  Manteke  grew 
so  large  that  all  its  services  were  held  in  the  open  air. 
At  a  missionary  meeting  in  the  Clarendon  Street  Baptist 
Church,  Boston,  $2,500  were  contributed  for  a  chapel.  This 
was  made  in  England  and  sent  to  the  Congo  in  pieces,  about 
700  loads.  The  Banza  Manteke  Christians  went  after  this 
Chapel,  and  brought  the  loads  on  their  backs  from  Tondua, 
more  than  fifty  miles  away.  Some  of  them  went  three  or 
four  times.  “How  many  hypocrites/’  says  Mr.  Richards, 
“could  you  get  to  do  that?” 

Times  of  Testing.  There  were  many  heavy  trials 
during  those  early  years.  Scarcely  a  station  but  had  its 
Christian  burial  ground,  while  not  a  few  missionaries,  in 
shattered  health,  returned  to  the  home  land  after  brief  terms 
of  service.  The  situation  at  Banza  Manteke,  described 


26 


V 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


below  by  Mr.  Richards,  in  his  report  for  1894,  was  probably 
very  similar  to  that  at  other  places: 

We,  at  this  station,  had  a  trying  time  during  the  last  month  of  the 
year.  Mrs.  Richards  contracted  a  severe  case  of  dysentery  from 
a  bad  case  she  was  treating,  and  before  she  was  better  I  had  an 
attack  of  the  same  disease.  Miss  Cole  came  down  with  fever  and 
we  were  all  helpless  together.  To  add  to  this  a  letter  came  saying 
that  Dr.  Leslie  was  at  Mukimvika  suffering  from  high  fever,  and 
a  note  from  brother  Bain  to  say  he  was  sick  on  the  road.  Then 
came  threatening  letters  from  the  State,  then  news  that  three  of 
our  Christian  women  and  five  men,  who  had  gone  out  evangelizing, 
had  been  tied  up.  kept  prisoners  and  abused  all  night  by  orders 
of  a  native  chief  under  state  authority.  We  began  to  feel  like  Job, 
but  then  we  had  our  “Daysman”  and  we  rallied. 

In  spite  of  all  these  experiences  there  was  not  a  note  of 
discouragement  or  inclination  to  abandon  the  work.  The 
converts  were  often  tried  as  by  fire,  but  at  such  times  their 
courage  and  the  firmness  of  their  faith  only  became  the  more 
conspicuous,  and  the  power  of  their  testimony  was  felt  far 
and  wide  throughout  the  district. 

Lukunga.  Next  after  Banza  Manteke  a  wonderful 
ingathering  took  place  at  Lukunga.  Under  the  faithful 


Street  Scene.  Fkoko 

27 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


ministry  of  Rev.  Theodore  Hoste  more  than  eight  hundred 
were  baptized  and  a  large  school  was  maintained.  But  a 
scourge  of  that  mysterious  and  dreadful  disease  known  as 
sleeping  sickness  swept  over  the  district  and  wrought  such 
havoc  among  the  church  members  at  Banza  Manteke  and 
Lukunga  that  at  the  latter  place,  at  least,  the  church  has 
never  since  attained  the  numerical  strength  it  had  during 
Mr.  Hoste’s  oversight. 

Soria  Bata.  In  the  year  1890  Rev.  E.  Broholm  and 
Rev.  P.  Ferderickson  opened  a  new  station  at  Kinjila,  a 
village  in  the  Stanley  Pool  District,  about  250  miles  from 
the  coast.  Mr.  Broholm  was  soon  left  alone,  while  his  com¬ 
panion  returned  to  Europe  on  furlough.  He  erected  nec¬ 
essary  buildings  and  preached  the  gospel  among  the  people. 
Four  boys  were  baptized  during  the  following  year  and  the 
outlook  was  full  of  encouragement  on  the  return  of  Mr. 
Frederickson,  whose  first  sad  duty,  however,  was  to  minister 
to  his  comrade,  who  passed  away  within  a  week.  In  1895 
the  station  was  removed  to  Kifwa,  a  point  nearer  the  railway, 
where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederickson  for  several  years  faithfully 


Street  Scene  in  Christian  Section,  Ikoko 
28 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


proclaimed  the  truth.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Christian  Nelson, 
who  went  to  their  aid  in  1892,  shared  in  the  trials  and  diffi¬ 
culties  of  the  work  and  were  beginning  to  rejoice  in  its 
triumphs,  when,  in  1901,  they  were  called  to  their  heavenly 
reward.  Mrs.  Nelson  died  in  Africa,  and  Mr.  Nelson  in 
England,  only  three  months  later.  Mr.  Frederickson  was 
an  ardent  evangelist,  and  in  1898  the  abundant  fruit  of  his 
toil  began  to  appear,  when  he  baptized  155,  and  in  the 
following  year  406.  During  1904  he  baptized  nearly  300, 
and  the  church  membership  has  since  increased  to  over  700. 
Thirty-five  preaching  places  are  maintained  in  the  district. 
The  care  of  a  large  number  of  orphans  is  a  distinctive  feature 
of  the  work. 

As  Kifwa  was  an  unhealthy  site  it  was  decided  to  move 
the  station  to  Sona  Bata,  a  place  sixteen  miles  away  and 
nearer  the  railway.  In  1907  Rev.  A.  L.  Bain  and  Rev.  P.  A. 
McDiarmid  began  the  erection  of  buildings  at  this  new 
center  and  soon  a  good  boarding  school  was  again  established, 
under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Bain.  Later  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Frederickson  returned  from  furlough  to  join  in  this  work 
that  they  had  done  so  much  to  promote. 

Good  clay  for  brick  making  is  easily  secured  at  Sona  Bata 
and  the  station  now  presents  a  neat  and  substantial  appear¬ 
ance  with  a  dormitory  for  girls,  two  boys’  dormitories,  a 
schoolhouse,  and  an  industrial  shop,  all  built  of  brick. 

Sixty  boys  and  girls  were  enrolled  in  1914  in  the  boarding 
school  alone.  The  lives  of  these  boys  and  girls,  who  come 
into  such  close,  continuous  contact  with  Christian  teaching 
and  influence,  are  important  factors  'in  the  Christianizing 
of  this  large  field. 

Mukimvika.  Mukimvika  is  in  Portuguese  territory  on 
the  southern  bank  of  the  mouth  of  the  Congo.  It  has 
always  been  considered  a  very  healthful  station.  There 
have  been  many  difficulties  owing  to  the  people,  like  most 
coast  tribes,  being  corrupted  with  vice.  In  the  early  days 
many  of  the  European  traders  cultivated  in  these  natives 
an  appetite  for  gin  and  rum  leading  to  the  demoralizing  of 
whole  villages.  For  several  years  past  Dr.  F.  P.  Lynch  has 
been  alone  at  this  station  the  greater  part  of  the  time. 


29 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


Matadi.  Matadi  is  the  receiving  station  for  all  the 
Mission.  Dr.  Sims,  now  in  charge,  is  one  of  the  five  men 
still  on  the  field  who  came  to  us  upon  the  transfer  of  the 
work,  and  who  has  for  more  than  thirty  years  been  intimately 
concerned  with  its  development.  His  reputation  as  a  physi¬ 
cian  is  unsurpassed  in  the  Congo  region  and  his  services  are 
in  constant  demand.  He  serves  as  mission  treasurer  and 
has  the  care  of  reshipping  to  the  interior  the  goods  of  all 
our  missionaries,  as  well  as  those  of  several  other  societies. 


The  Railroad  Bridge  near  Matadi 


Besides  all  these  arduous  duties  he  finds  time  to  care  for  the 
local  church  and  others  in  the  district. 

Progress  throughout  this  field  has  been  gratifying,  but  the 
hundreds  of  men  and  boys  from  our  various  stations  in  the 
Lower  Congo  who  are  attracted  by  the  opportunities  for 
employment  at  Matadi  present  a  serious  problem  The 
evangelistic  and  educational  needs  in  such  a  place  as  this 
when  added  to  the  heavy  burden  of  transport  work,  are 
more  than  any  one  man  can  meet  to  advantage. 

The  Congo  Evangelical  Training  Institution  at  Kimpese. 
From  the  very  beginning  our  missionaries  saw  the  necessity 
for  training  native  evangelists  and  at  several  stations  schools 
were  conducted  for  this  purpose.  The  first  effort  to  centralize 
this  work  was  the  establishment  of  a  training  school  at 


30 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


Banza  Manteke  to  instruct  the  evangelists  sent  from  our 
various  stations  on  the  Lower  Congo. 

But  as  time  went  on  a  new  and  better  plan  was  formulated. 
This  plan  was  that  the  English  Baptist  Mission  and  our  own 
Society  unite  in  a  central  training  school  for  all  the  Lower 
Congo.  Gradually  these  plans  were  consummated  and  in 
1908  the  new  school  was  opened  at  Kimpese,  with  Rev.  T 
Lewis  and  Rev.  S.  E.  Moon  as  the  teachers  representing  the 
two  societies.  During  the  years  that  have  passed  since  the 
opening  of  the  school  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moon  and  Dr.  Mabie 
have  been  our  tutors  at  Kimpese  the  major  portion  of  the 
time,  and  while  many  problems  had  to  be  faced  with  the 
training  of  these  native  evangelists  and  their  wives,  yet 
there  has  been  much  to  encourage,  and  a  good  substantial 
beginning  has  been  made.  A  report  says:  “The  work  done 
is  practical  and  thorough-going.  While  Biblical  instruction 
occupies  the  greater  portion  of  the  time,  other  branches 
calculated  to  fit  the  teacher  for  life  are  also  taught.  Two 
hours  of  industrial  work  for  four  days  in  the  week  is  com¬ 
pulsory  for  all  the  men.  Carpentry  and  brick-making  have 
been  taught  during  the  past  year.  .  .  .  The  work  for  the 
students’  wives  has  been  gratifying.” 

A  large  percentage  of  the  Kimpese  graduates  have  done 
very  satisfactory  work.  One  man,  Kikwakwa,  upon  finishing 
his  course  said  he  wished  to  carry  the  gospel  to  a  new  tribe. 
In  consultation  with  the  missionaries  he  seclected  his  post 
eight  days  away  from  Sona  Bata  station,  among  the 
Bamfunukas,  a  tribe  that  has  not  so  far  accepted  our  teaching. 
For  two  years  Kikwakwa  has  faithfully  labored  among 
these  people  steeped  in  heathenism  and  superstition,  and 
we  believe  if  he  continues  steadfast  an  abundant  harvest 
will  soon  be  manifest. 

ON  THE  UPPER  CONGO 

Progress  and  Sacrifice.  At  length  the  time  came  for 
pushing  the  work  farther  up  the  river,  and  Bwemba,  (now 
called  Tshumbiri)  a  town  170  miles  above  Stanley  Pool, 
was  the  first  new  point  chosen  as  a  center  Here  Rev.  A. 


31 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


Billington  and  Rev.  C.  B.  Glenesk,  with  their  wives,  wTere 
stationed  in  1889.  With  the  “Henry  Reed”  these  two 
brethren  traveled  and  explored  the  region  above  and  below 
Tshumbiri,  in  the  year  1890  going  a  distance  of  3,260  miles 
on  the  Congo,  Kassai,  Mfini  and  Luapa  rivers.  Rev.  C.  G. 
Hartsock,  an  able  and  beloved  graduate  of  Brown  University, 
and  his  wife,  led  further  advance  at  this  time  by  occupying 
a  new  station,  Irebu,  400  miles  above  Stanley  Pool,  at  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Tumba.  They  were  soon  joined  by  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  Thomas  Moody.  In  this  populous  region  the  work 
progressed  with  marked  encouragement  until  the  death  of 
Mr.  Hartsock  after  only  two  brief  years  of  service.  Thus 
another  name  was  added  to  the  long  list  of  willing,  joyous 
sacrifices  for  Africa’s  redemption.  The  spirit  of  those  who 
have  given  their  lives  breathes  in  the  last  report  sent  to 
America  by  Mr.  Hartsock: 

If  I  could  but  know  that  I  had  done  my  duty,  that  I  had  in  all 
things  striven  to  glorify  my  God,  that  my  days  and  strength  had 
been  spent  to  advance  my  Redeemer’s  kingdom,  it  seems  to  me 
that  I  could  go  to  my  grave  as  calmly  and  as  peacefully  as  to  a  night’s 
rest  after  a  day  of  toil. 

Tshumbiri.  The  work  at  Tshumbiri  was  pushed  with 
patience  and  persistence  by  Mr.  Billington,  assisted  only 
by  his  wife  during  most  of  the  early  period.  Sometimes 
they  have  traveled  as  much  as  400  miles  in  a  single  season, 
amid  many  difficulties.  The  roads  are  simply  native  tracks 
from  village  to  village  and  are  often  much  overgrown  with 
tall  grass;  one  must  cross  swamps,  small  streams  and,  occa¬ 
sionally,  large  rivers.  The  tour  is  made  with  quite  a  caravan, 
for  tents,  clothing,  bedding,  food  and  goods  for  barter  must 
be  carried.  Most  of  the  food  for  the  carriers  is  bought  from 
the  people  with  salt,  a  commodity  which  is  eagerly  sought, 
but  is  a  rather  bulky  currency.  When  they  approach  a 
strange  village  a  man  is  sent  on  to  tell  who  they  are,  as  those 
who  have  never  seen  a  white  man  are  very  timid.  Some¬ 
times  the  chief  receives  them  with  much  pomp  and  they 
are  allowed  to  pitch  their  camp  right  among  the  houses, 
where  in  the  evening  and  morning  they  gather  the  people 
for  a  service.  During  the  day  they  mingle  freely  among 


32 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


them  and  seek  to  explain  their  message.  Genuine  results 
follow.  Our  faith  would  be  strengthened  could  we  but  see 
the  transform¬ 
ation  in  some 
of  these  dark 
hearts,  and  the 
powerful  testi¬ 
mony  their 
lives  are  bear¬ 
ing  to  the  keep¬ 
ing  power  of 
their  Saviour. 

For  almost 
ten  years  Rev. 

P.  C.  and  Mrs. 

Metzger  have 
been  identified 
with  Tshum- 
biri  helping  to 

share  the  burdens  with  those  who  labored  there  so  long. 

Early  in  1915  Mr.  Billington,  seeing  that  the  overwork 
of  many  years  was  fast  draining  his  vitality,  decided  to  go  on 
furlough.  It  was  too  late,  however,  and  this  consecrated 
man  of  God,  dearly  loved  by  hundreds  of  native  Christian? 
as  well  as  by  his  fellow  missionaries,  died  on  reaching 
Matadi  wThere  he  was  expecting  to  embark  for  England. 

Ikoko.  In  1894  Rev.  Joseph  Clark  opened  a  station  at 
Ikoko,  further  east,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Tumba.  Here 
the  population  sadly  decreased  owing  to  the  awful  war? 
with  the  State  over  the  rubber  tax,  and  the  people  had  their 
natural  ambition  almost  entirely  crushed  out.  Many  who 
came  to  the  mission  were  cannibals;  in  fact  it  was  said  that 
there  were  fully  one  thousand  cannibal  villages  in  the  district 
east  of  Ikoko  and  the  lake. 

Many  girls  and  women  came  to  the  station  for  protection 
and  care.  Some  fled  there  to  escape  becoming  slaves,  and 
others  came,  and  are  still  coming,  to  be  freed  from  the  cruel 
treatment  of  polygamous  husbands.  Mrs.  Clark’s  training 
of  these  girls,  who  have  been  constantly  under  her  care, 


33 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


is  a  marked  triumph  of  work  amongst  the  Congo  women. 

For  several  years  it  was  felt  that  Ikoko  was  not  the  best 
place  for  the  station  in  that  district.  After  careful  inves¬ 
tigation  Ntondo  was  chosen  as  being  a  particularly  desirable 

location,  because  of  its 
altitude,  and  being 
much  more  accessible 
to  the  natives.  A  suf¬ 
ficient  area  of  land  has 
been  secured,  and  the 
station  staff  have  plan¬ 
ned  on  an  adequate 
scale  for  dwellings, 
church,  school  and  hos¬ 
pital.  Mr.  Rodgers 
has  burned  brick  there 
and  has  begun  the 
erection  of  permanent 
buildings.  Dr.  Ostrom 
is  looking  forward  to 
the  time  when  a  hos¬ 
pital  will  begin  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  thou¬ 
sands  who  come  yearly 
for  treatment. 

Vanga.  In  1906  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Leslie  left 
Banza  Manteke  and 
after  a  long  and  tiresome  journey  by  trail,  reached  their 
new  station  at  Cuillo  in  Portuguese  territory  amongst  the 
Bayaka  tribe.  Here  they  labored  and  in  snite  of  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  the  natives  to  cling  to  their  old  superstitions, 
and  their  indolence,  our  missionaries  believed  that  the 
Gospel  ere  long  would  find  an  entrance  into  the  hearts 
of  the  Bayakas. 

t*  However,  as  this  station  was  a  somewhat  isolated  one  in 
Portuguese  territory,  and  as  the  difficulty  of  transport  of 
goods  was  so  great,  it  was  decided  to  explore  other  sections 
of  the  Kwango  District.  In  19 n  and  1912  these  investi- 


An  Ikoko  Chief 

A  most  active  enemy  nnd  cruel  man.  (The  hat  indicates 
the  highest  l'un.v ) 


34 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


gations  were  made  and  Messrs.  Bain,  Moody,  Metzger  and 
Dr.  Leslie  finally  selected  Vanga  on  the  Kwilu  (Djuma) 
River  as  being  a  suitable  site.  The  steamer  service  on  this 
river  makes  the  transport  of  goods  a  comparatively  easy 
matter  and  the  large  populations  on  all  sides  give  us  the 
confidence  that  here  we  have  a  center  from  which  great  work 
can  be  done. 

In  a  recent  letter  Dr.  Leslie  writes:  "There  were  twenty- 
three  baptized  in  March  before  we  left  for  furlough  and  the 
church  organized.  The  work  has  grown  through  the  efforts 
of  school  boys  who  have  been  converted.  Hundreds  from 
the  villages  are  now  attending  services  in  the  station.  There 
are  165  boys  in  school,  the  number  being  limited  only  by  our 
capacity  for  caring  for  them.  The  results  of  the  two  years’ 
work  have  been  beyond  our  expectations.” 

A  COMMISSION  OF  INQUIRY 

In  response  to  the  urgent  request  that  our  Society  begin 
work  in  the  Sudan,  a  Commission  was  sent  out  in  1910  to 
investigate  both  in  the  Congo  and  in  the  Sudan,  in  order 
that  they  might  advise  the  Board  whether  or  not  it  were 
wise  to  open  up  a  new  mission  in  Africa,  and  also  as  to  the 
future  conduct  of  our  work  in  the  Congo.  This  Commission 
was  composed  of  Rev.  W.  L.  Ferguson,  Rev.  J.  H.  Franklin, 
and  Rev.  Johnston  Myers.  Rev.  Joseph  Clark  of  the  Congo 
Mission  acted  as  guide  to  the  party. 

After  visiting  the  various  stations  in  the  Congo  and 
meeting  with  the  missionaries  in  Conference,  and  then 
visiting  Nigeria,  they  returned  to  America.  In  the  report 
they  presented  to  the  Board  they  gave  the  reasons  why  they 
thought  the  Society  should  not  begin  work  in  the  Sudan, 
and  also  why  the  Congo  Mission  should  be  reenforced  and 
strengthened.  From  what  they  saw  in  the  Congo  they  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  reenforcements  in  missionaries  and 
equipment  were  greatly  needed;  that  the  educational  and 
hospital  facilities  were  inadequate  and  that  new  and  sub¬ 
stantial  buildings  ought  to  be  erected  at  several  stations. 
For  the  extension  of  the  Society’s  work  into  new  fields  in 


35 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


the  Congo,  there  were  the  Kwango,  Lukenie  and  Lake 
Leopold  II  Districts  still  to  be  investigated. 

This  report  was  accepted  by  the  Society  and  since  that 
date  it  has  helped  both  the  workers  at  home  and  those  on 
the  field  to  have  definite  objectives  in  view,  but  it  is  regret- 
able  that  through  the  lack  of  funds  the  Board  has  not  been 
able  to  strengthen  the  Mission  as  much  as  was  desired. 

MEDICAL  WORK 

A  Need  Fulfilled.  The  brutalities  of  the  witch  doctor 
have  been  referred  to  in  the  description  of  fetishism,  for 

sickness  is 
always  at¬ 
tributed  to 
the  posses¬ 
sion  of  evil 
spirits. 
Some- 
times  the 
sufferer  is 
v  io  1  e  n  t  ly 
treated,  to 
drive  the 
spirit  out; 
sometimes 
the  witch 
doctor  pre- 
tends  to 
point  out 
the  person 

who  has  bewitched  the  patient,  and  who  in  the  old  days 
would  have  had  to  undergo  the  trial  by  poison,  or,  in  the 
case  of  the  death  of  a  chief  might  even  have  been  shot, 
beheaded  or  burned.  Missionaries  and  others  declare  that 
these  things  are  not  done  because  the  Africans  are  by  nature 
so  cruel  but  because  their  belief  in  fetishism  is  so  strong. 
Therefore  the  coming  of  the  Christian  doctor  has  been  a 
marvelous  revelation  to  the  Congo  people,  both  as  a  manifes- 


36 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


tation  of  knowledge  and  an  expression  of  human  sympathy 
and  love,  fruits  of  the  gospel  which  the  physician  proclaimed. 

Equipment  for  Service.  Adequate  equipment  for  med¬ 
ical  work  has  not  been  possible  in  our  Congo  Mission.  Most 
of  our  stations  are  provided  with  small  dispensaries  but, 
with  the  exception  of  Mukimvika,  none  of  our  stations  has 
a  hospital  worthy  of  the  name. 

The  following  description  written  by  Dr.  J.  C.  King  of 
Banza  Manteke  is  true  not  only  of  Banza  Manteke  but  also 
of  Ikoko  and  Sona  Bata.  These  three  stations,  at  least, 
urgently  need  suitable  buildings  for  the  proper  treatment 
of  the  many  serious  cases  that  come  to  our  mission  doctors. 

Our  hospital  consists  of  one  room  with  straw  mats  for  a  parti¬ 
tion  to  separate  the  men  from  the  women.  Five  board  beds  on 
each  side  of  the  mats,  and  a  little  stove,  make  up  the  equipment. 
Each  bed  has  a  straw  mat  to  act  as  both  springs  and  mattress,  the 
native  furnishing  his  own  blanket.  This  may  be  somewhat  inter¬ 
esting,  but  the  real  interest  comes  about  nine  or  ten  o’clock  at  night, 
when  on  entering  the  hospital  one  finds  the  beds  occupied  with  pa¬ 
tients.  More  of  the  same  are  on  the  floor  with  friends  and  relatives, 
who  must  cook  and  care  for  the  sick.  They  lie  side  by  side  in 
blankets,  so  close  that  the  floor  can  scarcely  be  seen,  while  food  for 
all  lies  in  corners  or  on  shelves  or  all  along  the  sides  of  the  room. 
Here  or  there  a  baby  is  crying  because  it  is  in  pain  or  its  mother 
is  too  sick  to  nurse  it;  some  patients  are  coughing,  some  are  groan¬ 
ing  with  pain  or  in  fevers  of  from  ioi  degrees  to  107  degrees;  many 
are  suffering  from  pneumonia  and  dysentery  stirred  up  with  malaria. 
Such  a  picture  represents  a  scene  where  sleeping  sickness  would 
be  almost  welcome,  but  a  place  from  which  such  poor  sufferers  are 
banished.  We  can  give  our  time,  we  can  prescribe  drugs,  but  it 
takes  money  to  make  room  for  the  suffering  sick,  to  give  them  fresh 
air,  to  keep  them  in  their  proper  wards,  to  isolate  one  disease  from 
a  different  one,  to  give  relief  to  the  hundreds  of  poor  souls  now  un¬ 
helped,  to  provide  proper  sanitation,  to  provide  a  room  where  an 
operation  can  be  carried  on  with  some  reasonable  degree  of  asepsis, 
or  to  provide  a  place  for  maternity  cases. 


INDUSTRIAL  WORK 

From  the  beginning  of  our  work  in  the  Congo  most  of 
our  Mission  stations  have  done  more  or  less  toward  training 
the  natives  to  labor  skilfully  with  their  hands.  Kimpese, 
since  its  commencement,  has  emphasized,  in  the  teaching 


37 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


of  native  evangelists,  that  for  true  balance  in  their  education 
they  must  be  leaders  among  their  people  in  knowing  how 
to  work  with  the  hands  as  well  as  with  the  brain. 

Ikoko  and  Sona  Bata  have  been  aiming  to  do  more  than 
in  the  past  toward  giving  the  boys  who  come  for  instruction 


Specimen  of  the  Industrial  Work  at  our  Mission,  Ikoko 


a  knowledge  of  carpentry,  masonry  and  agriculture,  that  will 
enable  them  to  go  out  and  build  better  homes  and  be  examples 
to';  their  fellow  villagers.  At  Ntondo  Mr.  Rodgers,  a  man 
capable  of  undertaking  such  instruction,  is  hard  at  work, 
and  at  Sona  Bata  there  is  a  new  brick  building  for  the  purpose, 
but  more  and  better  tools  are  needed,  and  also  a  man  who 
has  the  knowledge  that  will  enable  him  to  superintend 
manual  training. 


GIVING 

The  aim  must  always  be  the  planting  of  a  self-sustaining 


38 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA 


native  church.  Much  remains  to  be  done  in  the  Congo 
along  this  line,  but  a  good  deal  has  been  done.  For  many 
years  the  Tshumbiri  church,  so  carefully  trained  in  the 
necessity  for  self-support,  has  been  the  banner  church  of 
the  Congo  in  this  respect.  In  1914,  the  500  Christians  on  the  & 
Ikoko  field  gave  $502.00  or  a  little  over  a  dollar  a  member.  •' 

When  we  realize  that  the  wage  of  an  ordinary  workman 
in  Congo  is  about  ten  cents  per  day  wTe  begin  to  understand 
how  nobly  these  Christians  at  Ikoko  are  taking  hold  of  the 
church  and  school  work  in  the  villages  of  that  district. 

OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  EXTENSION 

Investigation  has  proved  that  between  Vanga  and  Sona 
Bata  there  is  room  for  at  least  one  new  station,  and  probably 
two.  At  Moanza,  ten  days  from  Vanga,  two  native  teachers 
from  the  Lower  Congo  have  been  placed  under  the  super¬ 
vision  of  the  Vanga  staff.  Information  from  this  district 
seems  to  clearly  show  that  this  would  be  an  excellent  center 
to  plant  a  station  as  soon  as  our  Society  has  a  sufficient 
supply  of  men  and  means  to  warrant  an  advance  into  new 
territory.  Last  year  also  Dr.  Ostrom  investigated  the 
Lokoro  and  there,  he  believes,  there  is  likewise  a  good  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  a  new  station. 

OUTLOOK 

With  so  many  poorly  staffed  and  poorly  equipped  stations, 
it  is  marvellous  that  our  missionaries  have  been  able  to 
witness  such  victories  as  they  have.  Before  us  in  Congo 
there  lies  the  opportunity  for  a  great  work.  Old  stations 
must  be  strengthened  and  new  ones  ought  to  be  opened 
among  these  peoples  who  are  eager  to  be  taught.  Re-enforce¬ 
ments  ought  to  be  forthcoming,  and  equipment  worthy  of  the 
task,  and  then  we  would  surely  see  the  building  of  strong 
Christian  communities  that  would  be  an  honor  to  the  name 
of  Jesus,  and  an  honor  to  those  who  are  giving  and  praying 
at  home,  as  well  as  to  those  who  are  giving  their  life’s  best 
services  on  the  field. 


39 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


YESTERDAY.  TODAY.  TOMORROW 

Little  more  than  thirty-five  years  have  passed  since  the 
name  of  Christ  was  first  proclaimed  on  the  banks  of  the 

mighty  Congo. 
The  marvelous 
triumphs  of  the 
gospel  there  are 
strikingly  pic¬ 
tured  in  a  de¬ 
scription  by  Rev. 

five  years  has 
lived  among  these 
changing  scenes, 
and  has  been, 
under  God,  one 
of  the  most 
potent  factors  in 

Native  Evangelist  and  Family  bringing  them 

about.  He  says: 

Then,  all  was  thick  darkness  that  could  be  felt,  now,  the  morning 
light  is  breaking.  Then,  none  had  heard  of  the  sweetest  Name 
there  is  on  earth  or  in  heaven ,  now,  thousands  ot  hearts  leap  at  its 
sound,  hymns  have  been  composed  by  Congo  Christians  and  are 
sung  by  hundreds  to  His  praise.  Then,  the  language  was  unknown, 
now,  many  books  are  in  print,  the  whole  Bible  will  soon  be  in  cir¬ 
culation.  Then,  no  one  had  ever  seen  a  school  or  learned  a  letter, 
now,  there  are  scores  of  schools  and  thousands  of  readers.  Then, 
there  were  no  preachers  or  teachers,  now,  there  are  hundreds  opening 
the  eyes  of  the  blind  and  instructing  the  ignorant.  Then,  there 
were  no  church  buildings,  now,  there  are  many,  and  more  are  building. 
Then,  there  were  no  church  members,  none  had  ever  been  baptized 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  these 
precious  names  were  unknown  to  them,  since  then,  thousands  have 
confessed  Christ,  and  at  this  station  alone  over  5,400  have  been 
baptized  on  profession  of  their  faith.  Then,  no  children’s  voices 
sang  the  Redeemer’s  praise,  now,  thousands  can  be  heard  in  home  or 
school.  And  so  I  could  go  on,  but  I  must  not  forget  to  say  that 
in  June,  1904,  twenty-five  years  after  June,  1879,  when  we  first 
landed  in  Congo,  101  were  baptized  at  Banza  Manteke,  the  largest 
number  in  any  month  up  to  that  time.  We  did  not  plan  to  have 


Henry  Richards, 
who  for  full  thirty- 


40 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


it  so  and  did  not  note  the  fact  until  the  joyful  June  had  run  its 
course. 

The  next  twenty-five  years  will  surely  determine  what  Central 
Africa  is  to  be.  Considering  what  has  been  done  in  Uganda  and 
Congo  land,  we  ought  fully  to  expect  that  the  gospel  tree  will  have 
so  grown  that  its  branches  with  healing  leaves  will  overshadow 
the  whole  land.  Let  us  pray  and  work,  and  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  it  shall  be  done. 


Chapix  at  Bwemb/ 


41 


M  I  S  S  I  O  NS 


I  N 


AFRICA 


MISSION  STATIONS,  1915 


Palabala  (Pa-la-ba-la),  1878 
Rev.  W.  A.  Hall 
Mrs.  W.  A.  Hall 

Banza  Manteke  (Man-te'-ka,) 
1879 

Rev.  Henry  Richards 
Mrs.  Henry  Richards 
Rev.  C.  H.  Harvey 
Judson  C.  King,  M.D. 

Mrs.  J.  C.  King 
Mi  ss  Frances  A.  Cole 

Matadi  (Ma-ta'-di),  1880 
A.  Sims,  M.D.,  D.  P.H. 

Rev.  J.  O.  Gotaas 
Mrs.  J.  O.  Gotaas 

Lukunga  (Lu-koong'-ga),  1882 
Rev.  Thomas  Moody 
Mrs.  Thomas  Moody 
Rev.  Thomas  Hill 
Mrs.  Thomas  Hill 
Rev.  A.  L.  Bain 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Bain 

Mukimvika  (Mu-kim-ve'-ka), 
1882 

F.  P.  Lynch,  M.D. 

Tshumbiri  (Chum-be'-ri),  1890 
Rev.  P.  C.  Metzger 
Mrs.  P.  C.  Metzger 


Rev.  L.  F.  Wood 
Mrs.  L.  F.  Wood 


Sona  Bata  (So-na  Ba'-ta),  1890 
Rev.  P.  Frederickson 
Mrs.  P.  Frederickson 
Rev.  P.  A.  McDiarmid 
Mrs.  P.  A.  McDiarmid 
Rev.  J.  E.  Geil 
Mrs.  J.  E.  Geil 
R.  W.  Nauss,  M.D. 

Ikoko  (E-kd'-ko),  1894 
Rev.  Joseph  Clark 
Mrs.  Joseph  Clark 
Rev.  W.  E.  Rodgers 
Mrs.  W.  E.  Rodgers 
Rev.  Hjalmar  Ostrom,  M.D. 
Mrs.  Hjalmar  Ostrom 
Rev.  A.  V.  Marsh 
Mrs.  A.  V.  Marsh 

Kimpese  (Kim-pa'-si),  1908 
Rev.  S.  E.  Moon 
Mrs.  S.  E.  Moon 
Catherine  L.  Mabie,  M.D. 

Vanga  (Van'-ga),  1913 
Rev.  W.  H.  Leslie,  M.D. 

Mrs.  W.  H.  Leslie 
Rev.  H.  F.  Gilbert 
Mrs.  H.  F.  Gilbert 


ADDI TIO  AML  IN  FORMA  TIO  N 

FOR  the  latest  news  from  the  field  consult  the 
current  numbers  of  “Missions.”  See  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  Society  for  the  progress 
of  the  work  on  the  Congo  from  year  to  year  and  for 
statistics.  “Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent,” 
and  “Christus  Liberator”  both  treating  of  the  mission 
work  of  the  whole  continent,  are  also  valuable  helps. 


42 


For  additional  copies  of  this  leaflet  (at  ten  cents 
each)  and  other  literature  on  the 
African  Mission,  address: 

The  Literature  Department 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  FOREIGN  MISSION  SOCIETY 
Box  41,  Boston,  Mass. 


10  Rev.  Ed.-3M  12-22-1915 


Geo.  B.  Dod*>e  Co. 
Printers  Boston 


